AI-generated images and videos are becoming increasingly common these days. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious it’s AI, like seeing your favorite actors playing a different character in a made-up movie. Other times, it can be hard to tell. This is why Apple is working on a way to authenticate photos taken by the iPhone camera.
Apple wants to authenticate photos taken by iPhone camera
But the question is, why is this important? Why does it matter? This matters because in a world filled with deepfakes and where deepfakes are becoming easier to make, Apple is hoping to tackle the issue the moment photos are captured by the iPhone camera. This could be useful for journalists, legal evidence, insurance claims, and basically situations where a photo needs to be proven without a doubt, not to have been tampered with.
So how does Apple’s solution work? This was actually discovered in the latest iOS 27 beta and it’s called Apple Reference Image. This is an optional feature that can be enabled. When it’s enabled, users can capture photos using a new “Reference” mode in the Camera app. If users want to authenticate an image, the raw image and other data will be sent to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. Then, Apple will assign it a unique ID.
Once a photo is authenticated, it can be shared with other Apple devices, which can check its authenticity locally, without telling Apple which images are being viewed.
Fighting against AI-generated content
Apple isn’t alone in trying to fight against AI-generated content. Companies like YouTube have introduced deepfake likeness detection tools. Google themselves developed SynthID which embeds watermarks into AI-generated content. This has expanded beyond Google, with OpenAI adopting it for their AI-generated images too.
Of course, not all deepfake detectors work 100% of the time. Earlier this year, the Meta Oversight Board found the company’s deepfake detection inadequate. Will Apple’s version be more rigorous? We suppose we’ll have to wait and see. iOS 27 is still currently in beta. However, Apple will most likely release it next month alongside the new iPhones.
The post Apple Wants to Prove Your iPhone Camera Photos Are Real, Not AI appeared first on Android Headlines.
